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anybody running Linux?

akoako https://soundcloud.com/a-ko 3,413 Posts
edited November 2007 in Strut Central
ive been wanting to try out Linux for a while now...and now that i have 2 computers i figure why not do it now?anybody on here using it? ive heard nothing but good things about it. basically all i'd need it to do is run a music player and the internet....is it difficult to get running? do i have to format my hard drive to get it running? can i have windows and linux on the same hard drive?

  Comments

  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,903 Posts
    If you wanna try it. You can even run some distributions off a USB (Or boot from CD) key. Which lets you keep windows and boot into Linux whenever you want. I haven't used Linux in awhile tho. I did try out Ubuntu and thought it seemed pretty great.

    And yes, you can have both off the same drive. Just partition the drive and dual boot.
  • DjArcadianDjArcadian 3,632 Posts
    I run Ubuntu on a second drive. You can burn a disc and try it out. It runs right off the CD. I really wasn't impressed I'm sorry to say. Once I got past the initial fascination of having an operating system that wasn't Windows it kind of loses it's luster. You're like "Okay, now what". The fact that you can't run Photoshop is a major negative for me. There's programs like Wine (I've never used it) which let you run Windows programs on Linux but I heard it's buggy.
  • DjArcadianDjArcadian 3,632 Posts

    And yes, you can have both off the same drive. Just partition the drive and dual boot.

    Careful. I tried that and ruined my Windows partition. Had to scrap it and reinstall. Ended up putting Ubuntu on a 2nd drive. Was much easier.
  • JoeMojoJoeMojo 720 Posts
    I've used Linux for years for work. If you want ease of use, try Ubuntu. The most recent version is a big step up in terms of user-friendliness. If you really want to get into the guts of Linux, try Gentoo.

    For anyone missing Photoshop, there's an open-source clone called "The GIMP" which is getting really good. If you're a serious Photoshop jockey there's some stuff missing. But for most things it's good enough that I use it on my Mac instead of a "demo" version of Photoshop.

    If you want to mess around with audio stuff, you might want to try the Planet CCRMA packages from Stanford. Mainstream Linux distributions aren't great for audio without some tweaks, due to an ongoing philosophical disagreement regarding low-latency kernel scheduling.

    Most of the Linux audio apps are pretty lame in comparison to their commercial counterparts, though.
  • akoako https://soundcloud.com/a-ko 3,413 Posts
    For anyone missing Photoshop, there's an open-source clone called "The GIMP" which is getting really good. If you're a serious Photoshop jockey there's some stuff missing. But for most things it's good enough that I use it on my Mac instead of a "demo" version of Photoshop.

    the GIMP is good, i use it in windows currently, but i cant find a color replacer tool anywhere on it. am i blind or did they just forget to include one?

    Most of the Linux audio apps are pretty lame in comparison to their commercial counterparts, though.

    i just need something comparable to winamp. if it can play mp3s and FLAC, and has a media library view then i'm down.
  • JoeMojoJoeMojo 720 Posts
    the GIMP is good, i use it in windows currently, but i cant find a color replacer tool anywhere on it. am i blind or did they just forget to include one?

    There's a 'select by color' on the tool menu, and there's a 'color exchange' under the colors / map menu.

    i just need something comparable to winamp. if it can play mp3s and FLAC, and has a media library view then i'm down.

    Yeah, there's a ton of things like that... easily a dozen different iTunes and Winamp equivalents built by bored teenagers in Denmark.
  • jaysusjaysus 787 Posts
    The fact that you can't run Photoshop is a major negative for me. There's programs like Wine (I've never used it) which let you run Windows programs on Linux but I heard it's buggy.

    You should definitely try out GIMPShop a photoshopesque (key commands/windows) version of GIMP.
    If you are really into linux, you can do anything with GIMP that you can with photoshop, filters (weak) and all.
  • BlightyBlighty 225 Posts
    i just need something comparable to winamp. if it can play mp3s and FLAC, and has a media library view then i'm down.

    Rythmbox has all your bases covered. I love Linux Ubuntu. I's highly recommend giving it a go.
  • tirefiretirefire 203 Posts
    i just need something comparable to winamp. if it can play mp3s and FLAC, and has a media library view then i'm down.

    Rythmbox has all your bases covered. I love Linux Ubuntu. I's highly recommend giving it a go.

    Definitely try amarok as well. It's my favorite player on any OS.

    For a beginner, I recommend Ubuntu with the gnome desktop environment. KDE is great as well, but most beginner guides are written assuming you're using gnome.

    This guide is really excellent for getting started: http://www.howtoforge.com/the_perfect_desktop_ubuntu_gutsy_gibbon. After that, just play around with with. Try out a lot of different programs - there are thousands available free - and see what works for you. Google things that are confusing, and ask questions on the ubuntu forums.
  • dj_pidj_pi 335 Posts

    And yes, you can have both off the same drive. Just partition the drive and dual boot.

    Careful. I tried that and ruined my Windows partition. Had to scrap it and reinstall. Ended up putting Ubuntu on a 2nd drive. Was much easier.

    Just had a computer meltdown because of that exact same reason.

    I run Fedora on my Playstation 3 and Ubuntu on a seperate laptop. I would switch my main computer over completely, but lack of good drivers for an EMU-1212m audio card (not happy with the ALSA ones) and lack of a good audio editing program (I wish Sond Forge and Acid were available for Linux) has held me back from going all Linux.

    It's good to play around with though and like many other people have mentioned...if you have a seperate drive, load it on there and have fun.

    Not sure for playing music...but VLC media player is AWESOME for movies and is native to Linux. I recommend the Windows version even for the Windows peeps out there.
  • edulusedulus 421 Posts
    i ran ubuntu for a minute, then i switched up video cards, and it was a no go. that was just idiocy on my part though. just check up on hardware compatibility and you oughta be fine.
  • DjArcadianDjArcadian 3,632 Posts
    i ran ubuntu for a minute, then i switched up video cards, and it was a no go. that was just idiocy on my part though. just check up on hardware compatibility and you oughta be fine.

    Drivers are a big problem. With the latest update they've added support for my video card but it won't let me use my preferred dimension of 1024 x whateveritis. With their generic drivers I was able to the 1024 setting but video playback looked like shit.
  • z_illaz_illa 867 Posts
    I've been using it for a minute. Currently using Ubuntu on a second computer I use only for word processing/open office type of stuff. I've been slowly putting together a HTPC using mythTV. I would love to be able to run my audio computer off of it but...
  • tirefiretirefire 203 Posts
    i ran ubuntu for a minute, then i switched up video cards, and it was a no go. that was just idiocy on my part though. just check up on hardware compatibility and you oughta be fine.

    Drivers are a big problem. With the latest update they've added support for my video card but it won't let me use my preferred dimension of 1024 x whateveritis. With their generic drivers I was able to the 1024 setting but video playback looked like shit.

    sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

    just look down that file, and you should see the list of display sizes. Just type in the 1024x768 setting you're looking for, save, and restart X (ctrl+alt+backspace).

    More info here: http://www.linux.com/feature/118108
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